A Two Front War
by Radiationite
Summary: When Hikari Netto is arrested on charges of espionage and framed for attempted theft in Ameurope, Rockman must team up with a new but very familiar operator to save Netto, avert a world war, and ultimately defeat a new rising terrorist group.
1. Chapter 1

**Notes:**

- This is my first fanfic attempt ever, so it feels especially exciting :D

- This is based mostly on the Megaman Battle Network games, though I mixed in some parts of the anime into this as well. It's not 100% accurate with the storyline from those two places, but I've tried to make it as close as possible.

- That being said, please talk to me if you see any characters acting absurdly out of character.

- I'm going to use Japanese names (Blues and Enzan sound so much more legit than Protoman and Chaud, for instance).

- The story takes place a few years after MMBN6.

- The rights to Rockman, Netto, and the other characters belong to Capcom. I own the plot, and any own-characters I may choose to add to this story later on.

- . . . lines used either as a break in time or for a change in setting.

- Anyways, that's all I can think of for now...I hope you enjoy the fanfic :)

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_Washington DC, capital of Ameurope_

_10:30 PM local time (11:30 AM Japan time)_

The navi was the only one in the deserted area. All of the employees and citizens had gone home, and it was dark save for a couple of dim streetlights in the distance. Quietly, the navi walked into the nearby government building, where he was instantly met with a team of security navis. "Intruder! If you do not leave within 5 seconds, you will be terminated!" shouted the leader of the security navis, his Vulcan cannon aimed at the trespasser.

The offending navi was completely cloaked in an ominous dark aura that hid his true form. He ignored the warning, continuing forward calmly. When the security leader saw that his team would have no choice but to shoot down the mysterious navi, he screamed, "Team, fi-!"

Before the leader could finish the command, the dark navi had curled into a spiked ball and rolled through the entire group of navis with astonishing speed, impaling and deleting all of them instantly. The evil navi continued his slow, cool walk towards the firewall and allowed himself a quiet, malicious chuckle before slamming a huge hole in the wall with his left arm.

The next five layers of security were a piece of cake for the powerful navi. As he slammed through the final firewall, he was greeted by a blindingly bright light. Covering his face with a shield-arm, he bravely jumped through the gap and into the full splendor of the glowing object. After a brief moment, the navi's optical sensors adjusted to the brightness, and he took a moment to look at the source of the light. Ninety navimeters in front of him stood a grand circle of shining spikes, all aimed up towards the heavens. Light refracted from the spikes and exploded into arrays of brilliant colors. A cathedral-esque structure stood in the middle of the circle, its stained-glass windows adding pleasing tints and hues to the already dazzling light show. At the top of the structure was a golden spire, a single solid needle reaching up even higher than the spikes around it. And at the very tip of this spire…

The cloaked navi could only describe the oval of light as the very opposite of a black hole. The ball absolutely radiated with hope and life, much as a black hole heralds bleak despair. Four smaller balls of equally bright light orbited the oval in the middle, like electrons revolving around the nucleus of an atom. "This is it, then," the navi muttered. "The coveted…Dragon Soul."

He was suddenly jostled out of his daydreaming by a loud war cry. A new navi jacked in and materialized in front of the intruder. "Stop where you are!" he cried, brandishing a huge axe and pointing it towards his foe.

"What, 'choo talking to me, lumberjack? You're going down, oh yeah," the dark navi sneered, assuming a fighting stance.

"Well, you asked for it; I'll use you to sharpen my tomahawk," the other replied. "Let's get him Dingo!"

"Roger, Tomahawkman. Let's take him down! Tomahawk Swing!" yelled Dingo, the Native American who operated Tomahawkman.

Tomahawkman charged towards his enemy and slashed viciously with his tomahawk axe. The other navi nonchalantly flipped his shield arm up to intercept the blow. "You're not gonna take down the mighty Punk like that, boy!" Punk swung his free arm towards Tomahawkman's exposed side, jeering, "Punk Chain!"

Tomahawkman jumped away from the incoming attack in the nick of time. _He's fast_, the Native American navi thought. Punk turned to face Tomahawkman and began to curl into a spiked ball. "Go have a taste of my Mad Roller!" Punk snarled as he shot towards Tomahawkman.

Once again, the Native American navi barely dodged, and he knew that he was fighting a losing battle. There was no way that he would be able to continue dodging his opponent's blindingly speedy attacks. At that moment, Tomahawkman jumped yet again to avoid the incoming Punk. He fired a generic Cannon at Punk, but the shot bounced off Punk's spinning body without doing any damage. Punk uncurled back into his normal shape and taunted, "What? Tired already, lumber boy?" With that, he retuned into his rolling form and charged Tomahawkman again.

_Wait! That's it!_ Suddenly, an idea hit Tomahawkman. "Dingo, when Punk is curling up for his Mad Roller attack, he's vulnerable for a brief second. I need to hit him then; slot in something to slow him down so I can take him out the next time he switches forms again!" he said as he back-flipped to dodge Punk.

"Alright, my friend. Boomerang, slot in!" replied Dingo.

Punk once again reverted to his regular form to shout some more insults at Tomahawkman. But this time, when Punk tried to curl again for another Mad Roller, Tomahawkman released the Boomerang. It hit Punk squarely in the side, and Punk flinched for a second. That was all the time Tomahawkman needed. "Alright! You're done, Punk!" shouted Tomahawkman as he charged his stunned opponent. "Tomahawk SWING!"

Tomahawkman's attack sliced through Punk, causing him to writhe in pain. Punk glared at Tomahawkman viciously. "This isn't the last of me!" yelled the infuriated Punk. "We will meet again, and next time you shall lose!" With that, Punk was forced to log out.

"Dingo, our job here is done. Plug me out; we need to talk with the President," said Tomahawkman as he watched Punk retreat.

"Yup. Plug out, Tomahawkman!" The Native American navi returned to Dingo's PET, as the regular police and security navis began arriving to repair the damaged firewalls.

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_Akihara Town, Japan_

_11:30 AM local time_

"Wake up Netto-kun!" On the table, Hikari Netto's PET began beeping loudly.

"What is it, Rockman?" muttered the 15-year old boy, still half asleep.

"Don't you remember? Today's the day of the Ameuropean Airlines Tournament semifinals! Your flight to Endo City takes off at noon, and it's already 11:31. So you better hurry up!" Rockman shouted, causing Netto to fall out of his bed.

"WHAT! How did I forget?" yelped Netto, panicking to get his stuff ready on time. He dashed to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and changed into his orange vest, white shirt, and black-and-yellow shorts. "Alright…done, time to grab a quick breakfast and get going for the match" said Netto as he put on his signature blue bandana. He grabbed Rockman's PET, spun around quickly, and promptly tripped on his own feet. Rockman had to suppress a nervous chuckle as a drop of sweat formed on his head. "Argh," moaned Netto after face-planting into the floor. "Not cool…Quit laughing, Rockman!"

"Good morning, Netto-kun. Are you ready for yo-" began Netto's mother as Netto ran out into the living room, before she was rudely interrupted by a loud slam. She turned around and found that Netto was already out of the house. "That boy…" she said, shaking her head in a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"That was very rude, Netto-kun. How could be so insolent to your mother?" admonished Rockman as Netto began inline-skating towards the metro station. "A simple 'good morning' or 'hello' would have hurt you?"

Netto jabbed the mute button on his PET and cheerfully replied, "Aww, Rockman, don't be a spoilsport. We need to concentrate on-what the?" Netto shouted in shock as he suddenly collided with something, causing his to fly backwards and fall for the second time in five minutes.

Netto got up and found that the object he had crashed into was a girl. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Are you okay…MEIRU-CHAN?"

The red-haired girl looked up to see the horrified face of the brown-haired boy in front of her. She was dressed in a blue turtleneck, a green shirt, and a pink skirt; like Netto, she had not changed her general attire from the way it was five years ago. "Oww, Netto-kun, watch where you're going," she said crossly as he helped her up. Brushing the dirt off of her skirt, she continued, "Wait, aren't you supposed to be at Den City Airport right now?"

Netto sheepishly replied, "Well, yeah but I'm, erm, running a little late…"

Rockman bluntly interrupted, "Netto-kun just couldn't wake up on time again, like usual." This prompted quiet giggling from Meiru and a "Mind your own business, dummy!" from Netto.

Netto turned back towards Meiru. "Well, I guess I should get going then. If I hurry I still might make my flight." He prepared to resume skating towards the metro station again.

"Wait!" Meiru said, yanking Netto back towards her by the ear. "Yaito-chan is taking me, Dekao-kun, and Tohru-kun to Endo Stadium to watch you in the semifinals tonight. You should join us!"

"Sounds like a good idea," replied Netto. "What do you think, Rockman?"

The blue navi responded, "Sounds good to me too. Let's go!"

As the two humans walked towards Yaito's house, Meiru's pretty pink net navi Roll hopped into Netto's PET. "Rockman!" she cried as she tackle-hugged the unsuspecting Rockman.

"Roll-chan! How are you?" came the muffled response. Rockman appreciated Roll's enthusiasm, but it was rather difficult for him to talk with Roll pinning him down to the floor. He gently began untangling himself from Roll's embrace, hoping the pink navi would get the hint.

"I'm fine!" Roll obviously did not get the hint, as she continued chattering excitedly, oblivious to Rockman's efforts to get up. "Are you ready for today's fight? Meiru-chan and I know you and Netto-kun can do it, for sure."

"Of course we'll win! Erm, Roll…could you let me go for a second please, you're crushing me," replied Rockman.

Roll blushed and got up, then extended a hand to help Rockman up. "I see how it is," she said, putting on a mock-pouting face.

An anime-style sweat drop formed on Rockman's face as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "No, no, it's alright. Don't take it the wrong way," he chuckled nervously.

Rockman was extricated from this awkward position by his operator, who shouted, "Rockman, we've arrived at Yaito's place," completely oblivious to the situation at hand.

Roll released her pouting face and beamed at Rockman as she prepared to return to Meiru's PET. "Good luck tonight, Rockman."

"Thanks Roll, see you later."

Meiru and Netto entered Yaito's personal helicopter to find that everybody else had already arrived. Yaito smiled mischievously as she saw the two of them entering together. "So, why are you two lovebirds so late today?" she asked, causing Meiru and Netto to blush simultaneously.

"No, no, it's not like that," responded Meiru weakly. "I ran into Netto-kun while he was panicking since he had missed his flight, so I invited him to come to join us."

Netto objected, "Hey, wait, I didn't miss my flight! I would've made it if you hadn't gotten in my way!"

Meiru whirled around. "Me? In your way? It's your fault that you ran into me!"

As the two of them began bickering, sweat drops formed on everybody's heads, including the navis'. Yaito facepalmed. "Calm down guys. The helicopter is about to take off, so sit down unless you want to fall out."

With mutual glares, Meiru and Netto sat down next to each other and turned their heads up to the opposite direction from each other with loud "Hmmph!"s. Playing the peacemaker, Yaito suggested, "Why don't you guys plug Roll and Rockman into the helicopter comp so they can play with Iceman, Gutsman, and Glyde?"

"Sure," they responded at the same time. "Plug in, Transmission!"

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_Washington DC, capital of Ameurope_

_11:30 PM local time (12:30 PM Japan time)_

"And so Tomahawkman and I finally managed to drive off the intruder. I think he was going for the Dragon Soul, but we made sure that he didn't get it," said Dingo as he finished his report to the Ameuropean officials. "Tomahawkman has given the surveillance discs to the Chief of Net Defense, and we will find out the affiliation of the intruder navi shortly."

"Thank you Dingo," said the President. He was a tall, black-haired middle-aged man with stern blue eyes. His demeanor exuded confidence and authority, and he would not hesitate to do anything that would help or defend his country. "You are dismissed."

Dingo took a bow and was about to head out of the war room when a techie burst in. "Sorry to interrupt, sirs, but we have identified the intruder," gasped the breathless man, exhausted from running all the way from his office to the conference room. "The navi is , and he is registered to Meijin Eguchi, the recently promoted Head of Net Affairs in Japan."

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_Endo City, Japan_

_12:30 PM local time_

"Yaito-sama, we are about to land. Please prepare to disembark, ma'am," the pilot said to Yaito.

Yaito nodded her acknowledgement and turned towards her friends. Everybody was currently eating a delicious lunch and chatting in high spirits. Meiru and Netto had reconciled shortly after their earlier argument, and they were currently laughing loudly at a humorous story being told by Glyde. "So in the end the thief was thwarted not by the next-generation security navis and such, but by a TREE. A tree!" finished Glyde.

Yaito clapped her hands and announced, "Alright guys, we're going to land in about five minutes, so let's get ready."

When they landed, Netto was surprised to see a large group of tournament officials waiting outside the helicopter. "Hello, Netto-sama, my name is Butler," said the leader of the officials. "We are here to escort you to the stadium in preparation for today's tournament match."

Netto replied, "Um…alright, give me a second please." Turning to Meiru, he whispered, "Do you hear that, Meiru-chan? I'm a –sama now!"

"Don't get full of yourself, Netto-kun. Just get going," replied Meiru, who tried to sound serious but failed to repress a smile from showing up on her face.

"Alright," responded Netto, grinning. To the entire group, he shouted, "Guys, I'll see you later!"

"Bye Netto-kun!" they chorused in unison as Netto got off the helicopter to walk off with the officials.

After Netto had disappeared from sight, Yaito turned around. "We have six hours before Netto-kun's match starts. What do you guys want to do?"

"Let's go to the arcades so we can NetBattle!" shouted Dekao excitedly. "Let's show these natives who's the boss!"

"We should go to the onsen," Tohru calmly responded. "Mariko-sensei has been telling me that the Endo City onsens are great."

"I want to go shopping," answered Meiru. "I heard they have cute clothes here."

Yaito frowned. "How are we going to do all these things in six hours? I think we're going to split up. I want to go shopping too, so I'll go with Meiru-chan; why don't you boys work things out with each other?"

At this remark, Glyde remarked, "Excuse me, Yaito-sama, but I believe we can go to all three places. The Sky Center has recently been completed, and they have an onsen, a Netbattling arcade, and a twenty-story mall. I can bring up the directions to the Center if you'd like."

Yaito looked at her golden navi. "That sounds good Glyde." Glyde showed Yaito the map, and in turn Yaito gave the map to her servants. "We want to go here; get us a limousine so we don't have to walk there."

"Yes, Yaito-sama," her maid replied as the rest of the servants proceeded to convert the helicopter into a limousine. Within five minutes, the conversion was done, and the four friends proceeded to go to the Sky Center.

Once they got to the Center, Dekao immediately jumped out of the limo. "Time to go get them, Gutsman!" he exclaimed, dancing a silly jig before rushing towards the arcade as fast he could. The others laughed at the comical scene of Dekao attempting to run towards the escalator, waddling clumsily like an oversized penguin. Suddenly, they heard a loud plop behind them. Tohru turned around to see that a yawning hole had spawned right behind him, Meiru, and Yaito. "AHMAGAWD look behind you!" Tohru screamed, as a beast began crawling out of the pit…

"Aup aup!"

A dog jumped out, tackled Tohru, and began licking Tohru's face amiably. "It's just Rush, Tohru-kun. No need to panic," said the smiling Meiru.

"Very funny, Rush," muttered Tohru. "Anyways, what brings you here?"

"Aup aup!" The dog pointed in the direction of the onsen.

"Oh, you're here for the onsen too? Let's go then!" Tohru and Rush dashed off in the opposite direction from Dekao, spurred on by the promise of great hot springs.

Yaito and Meiru watched Tohru and Rush until they turned a corner. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Yaito asked. "Let's get shopping!"

"Sounds good, Yaito-chan," replied Meiru, and the two girls walked into the nearest boutique.

The two girls walked towards the dresses section of the store. "Ooh, this looks pretty!" exclaimed Meiru as she examined one of the dresses. It was sky blue and pink, with the occasional bit of yellow. She called over the nearest employee and queried, "Excuse me, where is the dressing room? I would like to try this on."

The employee pointed towards the right, and the two girls walked there. Meiru walked inside the dressing room and quickly changed. She walked out and asked Yaito, "Yaito-chan, what do you think?"

The blonde-haired girl eyed Meiru impishly. "I think you look fabulous, my friend. I think Netto-kun would agree too, don't you think?"

Meiru blushed. "What does this have to do with him?"

"Don't give me that," replied Yaito with a smug smile. "I know that you guys have something going on. Has he asked you out yet?"

"No, no, no!" denied the pink-haired girl fervently. "It's not like that, we're just friends."

"Sureeee," said Yaito, rolling her eyes and still grinning evilly. "In any case, I still think it would be a great idea for you to get that dress; you look great in it. Wear it on your next date with Netto-kun. Trust me, he'll be pleasantly surprised."

At that comment, Meiru blushed even redder but did not respond. Yaito paid for Meiru's dress, and the two friends exited the store to continue their shopping spree.

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When Yaito and Meiru returned to the front entrance of the Sky Center to meet up with the rest of their friends, they found that Dekao, Tohru, and Rush had already returned. Yaito cheerfully asked, "Hey guys, how'd your afternoons go?"

Dekao boasted weakly, "We were gonna strut our stuff, but that little cheater sucker-punched us and took out Gutsman before we could do anything. Those guys were wimps though; we would've knocked them out easy in a fair fight, right Gutsman?"

Gutsman weakly replied, "Yes, de gutsu." He was woozy from various wounds suffered from battle.

Yaito looked at Dekao wryly. "More like you and your little Gutsman just got stuffed up the butt by every Normal navi and their mothers out there," she laughed dryly.

Dekao flew into a rage at that. "Ya wanna say that again, shorty?"

Meiru rushed between Yaito and Dekao. "Hey guys, calm down…we don't need any more casualties before we go see Netto-kun's battle, do we?" she said, laughing nervously. Turning her attention towards Tohru and Rush, who were looking back and forth between the fuming Dekao and the annoyed Yaito, the pink-haired girl tried to change the subject. "Tohru-kun, Rush. How was the onsen?"

Picking up the hint, Tohru quickly replied, "It was great, Meiru-chan! However, I thought the ones in Hokkaido were better, but Rush begs to differ." Rush acknowledged the remark with an enthusiastic "Aup aup!" Tohru then continued, "Say, what time is it, actually?"

Yaito called to her chauffeur. "James! What time is it?"

The chauffeur looked at his wrist and then replied, "It is 5:38 PM, Yaito-sama. I believe Netto-sama's match starts at 7 PM, so may I suggest that we head towards the stadium?"

Meiru thought _Thank god Netto-kun isn't here; he'd never let us forget it if he heard two different people calling him '-sama' in one day._ A little smile formed on her lips at that thought as she and the rest of the kids entered Yaito's limousine. After a quick head count to make sure they had not left anybody behind, the chauffeur drove off towards Endo Stadium.

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_Endo Stadium, Endo City, Japan_

_6:55 PM local time_

Dekao slid into his seat at the Endo Stadium, carrying two extra-large cups of soda, a bag of cotton candy, and two large containers of popcorn. "You fatty," said Yaito. "Are you really going to eat all of that?"

Dekao plowed his face into one of the popcorn containers. "Yeah. You got uh prawblem wif dat?" he replied with his mouth full, spewing bits of popcorn everywhere.

Yaito recoiled in disgust. "Gross! I don't know why I let you hang out with me."

Before they could continue their confrontation, the lights dimmed. Dekao dropped one of his sodas onto the floor in surprise, spewing a sudden geyser of cold, fizzy liquid beneath him and his friends. "Good job," muttered Tohru to Dekao.

"Shut up," replied Dekao rudely. He was about to proceed to insult various aspects of Tohru when the lights turned on in the center of the stadium.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Jonathan Westlake, founder and president of Ameuropean Airlines," boomed the voice of a well-dressed man standing on center stage. "Welcome to the semifinals of the Ameuropean Airlines Tournament! The kind folks here at Endo City have been generous enough to lend us their facilities for tonight's event; let's give them a great round of applause!" The stadium roared with the sounds of clapping. After around a minute, the clapping died down again, and Mr. Westlake continued. "As you all know, the Ameuropean Airlines Tournament was held to determine the best Netbattler in the world. It has been an exciting tournament of miraculous victories and heartbreaking defeats. Now, finally, after twelve preliminary and elimination rounds, yes TWELVE rounds, my friends…" The man stopped for a moment to let his statement sink in before continuing. "…we are down to just four people. We have invited two of them here today. Each has risen to the challenge every time, and both are undoubtedly worthy candidates to compete in the National Finals in Washington DC, Ameurope next week. But there can only be one winner, so who will it be? I'm as excited as you are to know; please join me in welcoming our two Netbattlers to the stage for the Ameuropean Airlines Tournament semifinals!"

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause. Mr. Westlake shouted, "First, at the age of just fifteen, an Official Net Savior credited with saving the world on multiple occasions…from little Akihara Town...please welcome Hikari Netto!"

Netto walked into the spotlight calmly, waving at the crowds with a casual smile on his face. His friends shouted from the stands, "You can do it Netto-kun! We believe in you! Let's go Netto-kun!" Vuvuzela noises, cheering, and earsplitting applause filled the stadium.

"And his opponent, a lieutenant from chilly Sharo and a fellow Net Savior of Hikari Netto…please give it up for Laika!"

"Oh wow, Netto-kun and Rockman are up against Laika and Searchman," gasped Meiru. "I didn't expect that at all. This will be a close battle."

"I'm sure Rockman can pull through," responded Roll, from Meiru's PET. "He always does."

"Mind if I join you guys?"

Meiru turned around to see a familiar brown-haired man. He was wearing glasses, an orange T-shirt with the number 15 on it, a white lab coat, long black pants, and orange tennis shoes. "Feel free to join us, Meijin," replied Meiru cheerfully. "Who do you think is going to win this battle?"

Meijin sat down. "I have to stick with Netto-kun, though Laika-kun will certainly give Netto-kun a run for his money. Before I forget to ask though…have any of you seen a navi of mine recently? I lost contact with him a few days ago and haven't been able to find him. His name is Punk."

Meiru thought for a second and replied, "Nope, the name doesn't ring a bell. Roll, have you heard that name?" When Roll shook her head "no", Meiru asked Tohru, Dekao, and Yaito, "Hey guys, have you heard of a navi named Punk recently?" They shook their heads "no" too.

"Hmm…alright then," said Meijin, seeming rather lost in thought. "I'll keep searching later; for now I'm just going to enjoy the match."

At that moment, Mr. Westlake announced, "The competitors have finished setting up. The battle will begin in one minute!"

Netto and Laika sent their navis into the Netbattle machine. "Plug in, Transmission!"

Rockman materialized on the left side of the battlefield, and an orange-haired soldier navi appeared on the right. Rockman walked over and spoke. "Searchman! It's been awhile hasn't it?"

Searchman allowed a rare smile. "Hello Rockman, it's good to see you again. This should be an interesting battle."

Rockman nodded. "Yes, indeed. Good luck, and may the better navi win!"

The blue navi walked back over to his side of the field. "Ready when you guys are," Mr. Westlake said to Laika and Netto. They both nodded affirmatively to the man, so he announced, "The match will now…BEGIN!"

Rockman fired a trio of quick buster shots at Searchman, who dodged easily. The battle was on.

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I understand that this first chapter seems to have virtually nothing to do with my summary of the fanfic; bear with me please, I'm getting there. Feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this first chapter, and I hope you come back for more when I update! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Well, here's the second chapter at last. Apologies for the extremely late update; since school has started, I've been a lot busier than I was when I wrote the first chapter. Now on with the show!

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_Endo Stadium, Endo City, Japan_

_7:00 PM local time_

Rockman jumped onto a tall rock and began shooting rapid buster shots at Searchman. "Netto-kun! I'll try to hit him a bit early on to slow him down, and then I'll need some Swords to finish him off," called Rockman.

Searchman dodged the first wave of buster shots easily. "Is that all you've got?" muttered Searchman, covered in dust but otherwise unscathed. Searchman got up and looked through his gun's scope lens, taking aim at Rockman. As he prepared to fire, though, Rockman let a second rain of buster shots loose, clipping Searchman on the side and causing him to fall over into a cloud of dust. "Now's our chance, Rockman," came the voice of Netto. "Step Sword, slot in!"

Rockman teleported forward into the dust cloud and slashed, intending to take out Searchman with one blow. The attack was so powerful that it dissipated the dust cloud, but Searchman was nowhere to be found. Baffled, Rockman looked around for his opponent. "Look out behind you!" Netto shouted suddenly.

Instinctively, Rockman turned around and stabbed forward with his sword. The blade sliced the incoming grenade in half, causing an explosion that shattered the sword but did not harm Rockman. Rockman converted his arm back into the Rockbuster and fired in the direction of the grenade, but Searchman had already moved to a new location. Rockman heard the faint sound of a gun locking onto his back and jumped away just moments before a five-round Scope Gun shot pummeled the place where he had just stood. He sprayed more buster shots in random directions, but to no avail. "It's no good, Netto-kun! I need backup!" yelped Rockman.

At this time, Jonathan Westlake's voice came through on the loudspeakers. "After some earlier technical difficulties, we have fixed the PA system! Anyways, we are now nearing the five minute mark of this heated duel, but neither combatant has given an inch! But Searchman seems to have taken the upper hand, shooting at Rockman from unpredictable angles! Will Rockman find Searchman to even up the playing field, or will Searchman capitalize on this advantage?"

"We're far from done," muttered Netto. He looked through his chip folder. "Let's see here, Rockman…ah, this should work. DashCondor, slot in!"

A DashCondor virus appeared next to Rockman, who jumped onto it and levitated into the air. After a brief look around, he glanced a flash of green amongst a mound of gray rocks. Quietly, Rockman charged his buster while looking around seemingly aimlessly, intending to take out Searchman by surprise. "Charge…Sh-" he whispered when a flaming bullet suddenly deleted the DashCondor from underneath him. Searchman, now clearly visible, tossed a trio of Search Grenades at the falling Rockman. Sensing that the battle's end was near, Searchman walked out of his hiding place to get a better aim at his target. He readied his rifle. "Switching to Pierce bullet. Locking onto target," reported Searchman. "Target locked on. Shot fired. Enemy slated for deletion in three seconds," he continued as a bright white beam raced out of the barrel of his gun.

A faint smile played on Netto's lips. "Not if I have anything to say about this," he muttered into his PET. Selecting a pair of battle chips from his pocket, he raised his head. "Double slot-in!"

A loud explosion rocked the battle field as Searchman's grenades and pierce shot met Rockman in midair. "A direct hit! It seems that, after seven minutes and four seconds, Searchman has dealt Rockman a grievous blow; no navi could take that blast and fight on. Could this be the end?" boomed Westlake. Searchman frowned though. "Something doesn't seem right…" he muttered.

"Area Steal!"

Rockman suddenly warped right in front of Searchman, with only the boulder in between them. Searchman dove behind the boulder, anticipating an imminent attack, but Rockman stepped back and smiled instead. "Now take this! Guts Punch!"

Rockman's fist morphed to eight times its normal size as he plowed it into the boulder, shattering it on impact. The shards flew into Searchman, sending him flying through the air. Rockman pounced towards his fallen opponent. Netto slotted in a new chip for his navi. "Time to finish this with my Drill Arm," cried the blue navi, turning his arm into a drill and stabbing it into the ground repeatedly as Searchman roll-dodged madly.

Searchman brought his helmet's speakerphone to his mouth and said, "Laika-sama, I need backup," successfully keeping his voice from wavering.

Laika, vaguely annoyed that he had not won the battle yet, responded, "Camouflage Invis, slot-in. Now prepare the Satellite Ray!"

"Yes, sir," responded Searchman. As Rockman stabbed at him with the drill again, he rolled and promptly disappeared. "Crap, he got away," said a baffled Rockman.

"That's the least of our worries right now…look above you," replied his operator nervously.

The blue navi looked up. Three large satellites were hovering above him. "That doesn't look good," muttered Rockman. He fired buster shots at the satellites, but did no damage. "Alright, I guess I'll just have to RUN!" he shouted as he dove to dodge the first ray beam.

Searchman was kneeling around halfway across the battlefield from Rockman. Laika had just sent him their trump card attack, and he intended to finish Rockman off with it. "Target…locked on," he reported, focusing on Rockman, who was dancing around madly to dodge the satellite ray beams. "Omega Rocket Giga chip, firing now."

Neither Rockman nor Netto initially noticed the rocket since they were so busy concentrating on the satellite rays. Rockman only became aware of it when he heard it coming towards him. He turned around for a brief glance and stared down a hulking and intimidating white and red rocket. Instinctively, he dove away, avoiding the brunt of the rocket's explosion but still taking a major hit. He flew into a rock and crumpled to the ground.

"Rockman! ROCKMAN!" cried Netto anxiously. "Are you okay?" He looked at his remaining chips and found only one recovery chip. "Recover30, slot in!"

A brief healing wave washed over Rockman as he got up slowly. "I'm alright, Netto-kun," he replied, wiping sand off of his arms. Now help me find Searchman so I can finish this off before I-" Rockman had turned around to see the barrel of a gun pointed towards his chest. "Good game," said Searchman nonchalantly.

Through the PA system, Jonathan Westlake announced, "Despite Rockman's comeback efforts, it looks like this battle is about to end. Will Rockman surrender, or will he fight to the bitter end?"

Netto pounded his fist on the table in frustration. "There's got to be some way out of this. Wait…that's it!" He looked across the arena to Laika, who appeared to be waiting for Netto to concede the battle. "Resign? We'd never do that! Rockman, triple slot-in!"

More than a little surprised that Netto insisted on continuing the battle despite the fact that the outcome was obvious, Laika ordered. "Very well then. Searchman, finish him off."

"Roger." Searchman pulled the trigger and sent a purple jet of light point-blank at Rockman, causing him to explode into a plume of smoke."

"And that's it, fol-wait, what is this?" announced Westlake. Where Rockman had been a moment ago, only a charred dummy remained. From above Searchman, a voice shouted, "Program Advance! Bodyguard, activate!" Rockman hurled nine shuriken at Searchman, who tried to dodge but could not avoid one of the ninja stars.

"This battle is over! Z-Saber, slot in!" shouted Netto triumphantly. Rockman's arm converted into the light blade as he slashed through Searchman, not viciously enough to delete him but enough to force him to log out. As the crowd cheered and Laika gawked in shock, Westlake shouted, "And Rockman have pulled off an extraordinary come back to best Laika and Searchman in seventeen minutes and eight seconds. Congratulations and thank for giving us a great showing!" Westlake shouted.

Rockman's arm converted back to normal as a tournament official navi handed him a trophy. "We did it!" he beamed.

Netto grinned back. "Yup, off to Ameurope we go!" He unplugged Rockman from the NetBattle machine, shook hands with Laika, and headed towards the locker room, where he was instantly swarmed by reporters.

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_Endo Stadium, Endo City, Japan_

_1:00 PM local time (next day)_

"Whew, all these press conferences really tired me out," said Netto to Rockman as he prepared to head out of the locker room. "We're famous again!"

"Pssh, don't let this get to your head, Netto-kun," scoffed Rockman. "Anyways, let's head outside; our friends are probably waiting."

Netto opened the door and walked outside. It was a sunny day, and although the temperature was a bit on the hot end, for the most part it was relatively comfortable. Netto raised his arms and stretched, breathing in the fresh air. Suddenly, he was tackled to the ground by a flying object. "What the?" exclaimed Netto in shock. He prepared to retaliate but stopped when he heard familiar warm laughter.

"Netto-kun! Congratulations!" said a beaming Meiru as she freed Netto from her embrace. As she helped him up, he replied woozily, "Ow…your hugs hurt."

At this point, the rest of Netto's friends caught up with them. "Great job, Netto-kun!" said Tohru, as Rush barked his agreement.

"You really showed dat Laika dude, man! Wasn't dat Gutspunch chip I gave you great?" boasted Dekao.

"Oh quit your bragging, Dekao-kun," chided Yaito. Before the indignant boy could respond, she continued, "Anyways, we should get going; I've arranged for a party tonight at my house, and we wouldn't want to be late."

Twenty minutes later, the group arrived at Endo City Airport. It was a clear and calm day, and the sleek forms of four shining airplanes on display formed brilliant silhouettes in the distance. Seeing the awed looks on the teens' faces, Yaito's navi Glyde gave some background information on the planes. "These are the most recently invented models from Ameuropean Airlines. According to my research, these four are all military class aircraft, which is rather interesting since Ameuropean Airlines is not an official military supplier…Anyways, the green-and-silver jet on the left is the _Vestige_. It can activate a full-body cloaking device, the largest to date, and is armed with a precision laser cannon designed to pick off enemy aircraft from long distances. The red tank-like one next to it is the _Guardian_. Its bullet-like shape and ten-foot thick hull allow it to take all sorts of ballistic weaponry without sustaining major damage. Despite its rather awkward shape, the _Guardian_ moves with surprising grace and agility and acts as a bodyguard to the other three planes. The third one, yes, the blue one with the fancy yellow lightning bolt streaks, is the _Blitzkrieg_, which acts as a scout for the pack. It is capable of flying at record-breaking speeds without using any more fuel than a generic personal helicopter, making it the plane of choice amongst environmentalists. Finally, the sleek black one with the rocket launchers on the far right is the _Vendetta_. Armed with the latest weapons, the _Vendetta_ is thought to be the most powerful plane in existence at this point in time."

Netto scratched his head in mock thoughtfulness. "The _Blitzkrieg_ …I think that I've heard the name before. Hey, wait!" He unzipped his backpack and whipped out a golden ticket. "Yes, that's it." he said with a satisfied smirk on his face. "When I head to Ameurope tomorrow, I get a premium seat on the _Blitzkrieg_! Sweet!"

Dekao and Tohru looked at Netto enviously. Yaito stuck her nose into the air, crossed her arms, and scoffed, "Pssh, my limo-plane is so much better than those pieces of rubbish,"

"Speaking of the limo-plane, why are we stopping here at Endo Airport?" asked Meiru, the only one who was still looking out the windows of the limo. "Can't we just take off right now and head home?"

Yaito replied, "We need to perform a routine diagnostic check on the limo-plane today. It'll only take a little while anyways; why so impatient?" A small smile formed on Yaito's lips. "Can't wait to dance with _someone?_"

Everyone except Netto noticed Meiru blushing. "Oh nothing, just wondering," she responded quickly. "Hey, I think we're here."

As the kids got off the limo, Yaito had a quick chat with her chauffeur before running to catch up with her friends. "Alright, we should head over to the Ajax-2 special departures terminal in an hour; that's where they're performing the checkups. While we're here, we may as well look around." They walked through the revolving doors into the airport.

Immediately, Netto spotted a familiar face hurrying through the crowd. He sprinted away from his friends, yelling, "Meijin-san! Hey, Meijin-san, wait up!"

Meijin turned around, frowning slightly and apparently deep in thought. "No need for formalities," he responded out of habit. He put on a half-hearted smile. "By the way, you did a splendid job last night. It was nice seeing you and Laika-kun rekindle your old rivalry again."

"Oh wow, you were at the stadium?" beamed Netto. "You know, we're having a celebration party at Yaito-chan's tonight; wanna come with us?"

Meijin shook his head sideways slowly. "I have other obligations tonight, I'm afraid."

"Oh okay." At this point, the rather oblivious boy finally noticed that Meijin was looking quite haggard and pensive. Netto's smile faltered. "Is something wrong?" he asked the older man.

"No, it's all good. I appreciate your concern though." Now Meijin let out a genuine smile. "Don't worry about me; I gotta get going. Have fun with your friends tonight."

"Alright, Meijin-san. See you whenever then!" Netto began running back towards his friends, waving good-bye to Meijin as he weaved through the crowd.

Meijin sighed. "No need for formalities," he muttered as he watched Netto and his friends walk towards the Ajax-2 terminal. When they finally disappeared from his view, he turned around and walked towards his destination, the Ajax-1 special departure terminal. There, a government chopper received him and flew towards the Japanese capital of Tokyo.

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_Tokyo, Japan_

_4:00 PM local time_

The assistant pilot walked out of the cockpit. "Meijin-sama, we are preparing to descend into headquarters. Please prepare to disembark," said the young, sandy-haired man.

"No need for formalities," the restive Meijin replied. "But thank you for the information." The assistant pilot nodded his acknowledgement and returned to the cockpit. Meijin sighed and poured himself a cup of coffee, his fifth of the afternoon.

As soon as the chopper landed at headquarters, Meijin immediately found himself swarmed by a group of elite bodyguards. He was rather taken aback by his unexpected entourage, but decided not to say anything as they quickly led him down the halls. Suddenly, two of the bodyguards tackled Meijin to the floor and jumped on top of him while the rest of the squad aimed their guns in various directions. After a few tense seconds, the bodyguards returned their weapons to their holsters and helped Meijin back onto his feet. "What was that all about?" asked the flustered Meijin, but none of the men answered. Instead, they continued down the halls towards a maximum security conference room located in the very center of headquarters.

When Meijin opened the door, he was surprised to find that the rest of the military council had already arrived. Meijin took his place at the rectangular table and, completely ignoring political etiquette, blustered, "Okay, someone tell me what's wrong here. You call me back from a mission on the other side of Japan for an emergency meeting, and then my bodyguards tackle me in the hallways without giving me an explanation. What happened?"

The Japanese president, a thin, clean-shaven, black-haired man with distinct eyebrows replied, "It's a rather serious situation, Minister Eguchi." Meijin prepared to continue his rant but checked himself and took his seat when he noticed the nervous expression on the President's face. Once order had been restored, the President stood up to brief the other men. "Gentlemen, I have summoned you all here today to discuss a potentially dire conflict. Yesterday, the Ameuropean President contacted me to tell me about the attempted hijacking of one of his country's national treasures. After a brief discussion on the subject, he told me that their government had identified the Navi responsible for the crime. That Navi is ." The President paused for a moment as everybody in the room turned to look at Meijin's stunned reaction. "Yes," the President sighed, "this is registered under your name, Minister Eguchi, and the Ameuropean government suspects that we, the Japanese government, are involved in this heinous crime. Do you have anything to say, Minister?"

Meijin gawked at the President for a long moment before replying quietly, "I haven't seen Punk since I sent him off to coach a group of young NetBattlers in Houston. I lost touch with him about four days ago though, and he was supposed to return yesterday morning but didn't. However, I was not too worried since I know he can take care of himself. Besides, this wasn't the first time he's been late…he tends to have a bad habit of spending hours in NetCandy stores buying sweets." The other government officials sweat-dropped, and Meijin meekly continued, "With respect, my Honorable fellow Ministers, you guys have no idea how much Punk enjoys sweets. It scares me too; he wastes a quarter of my monthly paycheck on them. In any case, I was going to report Punk missing tomorrow morning, per NetLaw Code a; as I said earlier, he's been late before, and I didn't want to make a big fuss out of the situation. But I never, ever expected him to hijack the Ameuropean government's servers behind my back."

The President looked at Meijin and noted the sincerity in the man's eyes. "I believe that Minister Eguchi is speaking the truth, and that he has no part in the matter," he declared, and a chorus of murmured agreement amongst the other ministers followed. "That being said, I'm not sure if the Ameuropean government will accept his explanation as openly as we have. For all we know, they might think he is acting as a scapecoat for a foiled act of government espionage. All we can do now is to pass Minister Eguchi's words on to the Ameuropean government in 24 hours; in the meantime, I will contact them. At the next meeting, we will discuss our course of action, depending on how they react. For now, just stay on your toes and be careful. Meeting adjourned." As the ministers filed out of the room, the President added, "Oh, and Meijin, keep an eye on all of your Navis please." The two men exchanged slight but warm smiles before Meijin walked out the door.

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Before I leave, I'd like to thank Dessmond Williams and Rangerfan58 for being the first two to review; they played a huge role in inspiring me to continue! If there are others of you out there reading my story, reviews are greatly appreciated. Don't worry, I won't bite :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


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